1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wheel information processing device which processes wheel information for use in an automotive vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
To attain safe running of an automotive vehicle, it is indispensable to keep the state of the wheels normal. If the vehicle continuously runs with the tires in a low-pressure state or high-temperature state over a long period of time, the reliability of the tires will be spoiled. In some cases, an undesired phenomenon may occur on the tires.
Therefore, it is desirable that the air pressure and temperature states of the respective tires be monitored appropriately, and detection of a fault in the tires be notified to a driver of the vehicle at an early stage.
Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Application No. 05-013802 discloses a tire pressure alarm system which is equipped with a wheel-side transmitter which transmits tire pressure information, and a body-side receiver which receives the tire pressure information from the wheel side transmitter.
In order to grasp the state of the wheels, the wheel information must include the sensor information of various sensors, such as air pressure sensors and temperature sensors. To detect the temperature of the wheels, the sensor information must be collected from the sensors at different positions on the tires, the wheels, etc.
There is a case in which the level of priority of some of the sensor information varies depending on the running state of the vehicle. It is desirable that the body-side communication unit communicates with the wheel-side communication unit by taking into consideration this point.
The prerequisite for the alarm system disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Application No. 05-013802 is that a single wheel-side communication unit be disposed in each of the wheels of the vehicle. If two or more wheel-side communication units are disposed in each wheel, the problem of interference between the wheel-side communication units may arise.
For this reason, in a case in which a plurality of sensors are disposed in one wheel and a plurality of communication units which transmit the outputs of the sensors are also disposed in the wheel, it is desirable that the body-side communication unit receives the wheel information while the interference between the plurality of wheel-side communication units is avoided, and the wheel information is processed.